Perspectives on Breast Cancer: An Audio Experience
CancerBreast Cancer

Perspectives on Breast Cancer

Perspectives on Breast Cancer
Everyday Health
By
Published on October 29, 2025
by
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among American women, behind skin cancers. Currently, more than four million women in the United States have completed or are undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

 If you’re one of them, it can help to hear from others who are going through it.

Here, people of various ages and backgrounds share how they’re navigating life with breast cancer.

Perspectives on Getting a Breast Cancer Diagnosis

A breast cancer diagnosis can prompt a range of feelings, including anger, fear, and sadness. Listen to how four women worked through their emotions and decided they wouldn’t let cancer define them.
Portrait of a person
Sally
Metastatic breast cancer thriver
“I knew that I didn't want cancer to define me. I'm still gonna live my life by making choices that let me show up as well as I could.”
Transcript Available
Portrait of a person
Lisa
Metastatic breast cancer thriver
“That's devastating for any parent to hear that you have cancer. Thinking that, ‘Oh my goodness, I might not live to see them grow up.’”
Transcript Available
portrait of a person
Shirley
Breast cancer survivor
“I had two therapists that I connected with on a regular basis, and so I was really careful about when and how I was grieving and thinking through and processing all of this.”
Transcript Available
Portrait of a person
Stephanie
Metastatic breast cancer thriver
“They teach you about the different chemos that you're going to be receiving ... but the emotional part, the financial part, I didn't get any of that. I had to find all that stuff out on my own.”
Transcript Available

Perspectives on Self-Advocacy and Breast Cancer

When you’re living with breast cancer, it’s important to prioritize your needs. Although it took time, Lisa and Stephanie realized that putting themselves first was one of the best things they could do for their health.
Portrait of a person
Lisa
Metastatic breast cancer thriver
“You really start to have hope. And that takes over all of the fear that you have.”
Transcript Available
Portrait of a person
Stephanie
Metastatic breast cancer thriver
“At 62 years old, I am finally learning that I can put myself first. A late learner, I am, but I'm learning.”
Transcript Available

Perspectives on Building a Breast Cancer Support System

Some research suggests that having solid social support may help improve survival rates and quality of life in people with breast cancer.

 Social support can come from your immediate family and close friends, as well as online and in-person breast cancer support groups. Hear how these women created and embraced community while fighting cancer.
Portrait of a woman
Dee
Breast cancer survivor
“Letting go of control in my life is something I still struggle with. I had to start to think about me and my healing. I had to learn how to say I need help.”
Transcript Available
Portrait of a person
Lisa
Metastatic breast cancer thriver
“I've never hidden the things that were going on with my cancer. I felt like it was necessary for them to know. I do worry that my openness has caused them to be fearful.”
Transcript Available
portrait of a person
Shirley
Breast cancer survivor
“I think it's important to know that there are people that have taken this journey before you. To be there and be welcomed in by others who say, ‘Welcome to the club that no one wants to be a part of.’”
Transcript Available
Portrait of a person
Brianna
Breast cancer previvor
“Being able to know your options, know what's available to you, because of another person, is everything. I wouldn't be here today without that.”
Transcript Available

Perspectives on Mastectomies

The decision to get a mastectomy can be challenging, but it’s often lifesaving. Brianna and Shirley open up about life after surgery.
Portrait of a person
Brianna
Breast cancer previvor
“I think it took me about a full month to look at myself in the mirror. I would avoid mirrors. Like going to the bathroom, going to shower. You know, I consciously decided not to look at myself.”
Transcript Available
portrait of a person
Shirley
Breast cancer survivor
“I'm here. I'm not in pain. It doesn't stop me from doing what I want to do. I always have to keep that perspective.”
Transcript Available

Perspectives on Disparities in Breast Cancer Treatment

In the United States, Black women have a 5 percent lower breast cancer rate than white women but a 38 percent higher rate of death from the cancer.

 And Black and Hispanic women continue to be underrepresented in breast cancer clinical trials.

 Here, Stephanie talks about her experiences with disparities in care as a Black woman in America.
Portrait of a person
Stephanie
Metastatic breast cancer thriver
“I didn't know anybody that had metastatic breast cancer, much less another Black person that had it.”
Transcript Available
Portrait of a person
Stephanie
Metastatic breast cancer thriver
“Clinical trials are extremely important to metastatic breast cancer patients. That is something I didn't even know about when I was diagnosed.”
Transcript Available

Perspectives on Intimate Relationships

Conversations about intimacy are often overlooked — or shied away from — when you have breast cancer. Dee and Renu get candid about how their relationships with their partners changed after the breast cancer diagnosis. 
Portrait of a woman
Dee
Breast cancer survivor
“Cancer, it just took away the intimacy that we shared with each other. ... There is no information out there about how to navigate intimacy. My oncologist could not tell us anything.”
Transcript Available
Portrait of a person
Renu
Breast cancer survivor
“What we need to hear is, ‘Yes, you're doing this well, but we are here to support you. And if you ever feel down, I'm here for you.’ I feel like it's okay to take help.”
Transcript Available
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Key Statistics for Breast Cancer. American Cancer Society. May 5, 2025.
  2. Adam A et al. Availability, Accessibility, and Impact of Social Support on Breast Cancer Treatment Among Breast Cancer Patients in Kumasi, Ghana: A Qualitative Study. PLoS One. April 16, 2020.
  3. Malhotra P. Understanding Breast Cancer Racial Disparities. Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
  4. Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2024-2025. American Cancer Society. 2024.
  5. Hirko KA et al. The Impact of Race and Ethnicity in Breast Cancer—Disparities and Implications for Precision Oncology. BMC Medicine. February 11, 2022.
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lisa-d-curcio-bio

Lisa D. Curcio, MD, FACS

Medical Reviewer
Castle Connolly Top Doctor
Lisa Curcio, MD, is a board-certified general surgeon and a fellowship-trained surgical oncologist. She is currently the medical director of breast surgery at Northern Dutchess Hos...
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Jessica Hicks

Jessica Hicks

Author

Jessica Hicks is a writer, editor, and published research author with a background that spans traditional journalism, health tech, and the nonprofit sector. She has experience prod...

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